[Emotional Story] The Flowers of the Other Side

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For a thousand years it blooms, for a thousand years it withers; flower and leaf shall never meet again. Love is not governed by cause and effect; fate determines life and death. ” Red spider lilies: There is a legend regarding red spider lilies. It is said that once there were two people named Pi and An, and the heavens decreed that they could never meet. They loved each other deeply and admired one another; eventually, one day, they defied the laws of heaven and met in secret. As the saying goes, there’s a special connection between soulmates. When they met, he found that she was a beautiful woman, while she also saw that he was a handsome young man. They liked each other at first sight and fell in love, deciding to be together for life, to stay together forever, through all ages. The outcome was inevitable, for by violating the laws of heaven, this relationship was ultimately mercilessly destroyed. Heaven sent down punishment, inflicting a cruel curse upon the two of them. Since they had disregarded the heavenly laws by meeting in secret, they were turned into the petals and leaves of a flower. Yet this flower was most peculiar: there were petals without leaves, and leaves without petals, with the petals and leaves remaining separated from each other throughout eternity. Legend has it that after countless cycles of reincarnation, one day the Buddha came here and saw a flower on the ground with an extraordinary presence; its color was a fierce red like fire. The Buddha went over to it to examine it closely, and with just one glance he understood its secrets. The Buddha felt neither sorrow nor anger; instead, he suddenly laughed loudly three times, then reached out to pull the flower out of the ground. The Buddha held the flower in his hands and said with emotion, \"In your past lives, you longed for each other yet could not meet; after countless cycles, you loved each other yet could not be together. What is called separation and reunion is nothing but the arising and fading of fate. There is a curse from the heavens upon you, one that keeps you bound together even when your fate ends, and prevents you from parting even when that fate fades. I cannot lift this cruel curse for you, so I will take you to that other realm, where flowers bloom everywhere.\" 　　On his journey to the other shore, the Buddha passed by the River of Three Paths in the netherworld, and accidentally had his clothes wet by the water. There, the red flower that the Buddha was carrying was placed there. When he reached the other shore and unwrapped the flower from his clothes, he found that the once bright red flower had turned pure white. After pondering for a moment, the Buddha laughed and said, \"Great joy is not as good as great sorrow; remembering is not as good as forgetting. How can one distinguish right from wrong? What a beautiful flower, truly.\" The Buddha planted this flower in the Other Side, calling it the mandala flower; and because it is in the Other Side, it is also known as the flower of the Other Side. When I love you, you are the only one in my life; when I no longer love you, you have already left! The flowers of the other shore – so vividly red! The vows we once made no longer exist. I love you, and you love her; all I can do is wish you well. I said from the start that I wasn’t sure I could defeat her completely; I had no confidence in myself. And in the end, I lost. I left suddenly, all for your happiness, hoping that you will live a better life than I did, be happier than I was. I arrived, but you were already gone; you arrived, but I had already left. We are destined to miss each other forever. This is the red spider lily. I left quietly, hoping that you’ll be better off than I am. The person in your heart isn’t me. Enough—stop deceiving yourself. All this time has been enough. Slowly, forget the sorrow, slowly forget the one you once loved the most. It’s only for your sake that I hope you’ll live a better life than I do. Those nights, those tears—enough. Tears can only prove that I’m not strong enough. We used to say that if you stayed, I wouldn’t leave. But those were just empty promises. Consider it just a dream from last night. I’m truly tired of loving you. Your lack of trust… I really don’t know what to say. I don’t have the strength to earn your trust. I’m very sorry. Enough, let me slowly forget you, let my wounds heal slowly. Enough. Love remains in my heart! He’s really better than me—he has everything I can’t give you: a beautiful face, a perfect body, perfect living conditions. These are things I can’t offer. Enough. I’ll watch movies by myself, walk alone, do whatever needs to be done on my own. That way, I’ll be strong enough, and I won’t be so sad that I can’t even cry. In this world, if I’m not strong, then who will be weak for me?